They say that veteran perfume makers have the ability to detect hundreds and thousands of different scents through vigorous training. People are not simply born with a heightened sense of smell superior to the average human being. Smell is commonly known to invoke a strong sense of memory because, “…olfactory input winds its way through other brain regions, including the centers for memory and emotion, before reaching the thalamus” (Weir, 2011), whereas our other senses relay their input directly to the thalamus which is considered the switchboard to the brain.

Recently, my sense of smell has become a preoccupation of mine after watching the movie Perfume: the story of a Murderer. The film tells the story of the notorious murderer Jean-Baptiste Grenouille in 18th century France. Grenouille was born with a super human sense of smell and is thus able to create the world’s finest perfumes. Despite his success, he becomes obsessed in his search for the ultimate scent which leads to a much darker side of this olfactory sense.

Out of all my 5 senses, I consider my sense of smell to be the most intriguing. It is intangible and elusive but somehow has a fervent hold within my psyche. Despite its perishable and at times, indescribable nature, it is the sense most strongly tied to our memories. A single whiff of a particular scent has the power to transport me to the time I first experienced the smell...

[Caution: Keep from heat or flame]

My mother told me not to look into other people's medicine cabinets. The bottle had a smooth black cap and ridges that truncated the dark red glass. 3.7 ounces. Eau de Toilette. Natural Spray. There was nothing natural about this scent. I continued to read the box: absinthe, red basil, pimiento, patchouli, styrax, and benzoin to create the, "image of carnal sensation". Clear masculine codes like a heartbeat intoxicating absinthe to thrill, wormwood to anchor and ground. Recommended Use: day, evening, or night. Distilled unripened cherry, pepper, flesh and virile patchouli can swoon any heart. A drop of benzoin to convey seduction. It. just. isn't. fair. I looked up the ad for his cologne when I got home that night. Coupled and fragmented scenes of contrast. Freshness and warmth, shivers and caresses, fluidity and power, nature and seduction. I removed the cap, depressed the plunger, and watched the molecules mist in front of me. Departing from one another. Atomizing. I smelled what had been intended: wood furnishings and late nights, leather and a freshly made bed. The smell of dance floors to thrill and my favorite tea. Salty collarbones and kisses.

It really isn’t fair…these colognes and perfumes that we wear. Without any added help, we are already attracted to how we naturally smell on the most primal and carnal levels. On top of this, our minds and bodies attach these colognes and perfumes to detailed emotional memories. I know for a fact, that as long as I live, the cologne described in [Caution: Keep away from heat or flame] will have the power to quicken my heartbeat, weaken my knees, and bate my breath.